


Maya Meets Hope (again and again)

by wintermoon



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Rilaya, Romantic Fluff, like really almost nothing but fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-26 23:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14412990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintermoon/pseuds/wintermoon
Summary: "Dream dreams, Maya. You're going to get everything you want in life." Riley, Girl Meets PlutoA look into the girls' future after the GMW finale.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Monica_Rambeau](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monica_Rambeau/gifts).



> Many thanks to Monica_Rambeau for the beta on this, and the encouragement to write it in the first place. The idea for this little fic came to me a while ago and was actually the reason I started reading Rilaya fic in the first place. I loved Monica's work and mentioned this idea in a comment. Her reaction is the reason you get to read this today. :)

“Dream dreams, Maya. You’re going to get everything you want in life.” Riley, Girl Meets Pluto

**Girl Meets True Desires**

_Late August, just before Senior Year_

Maya crawled through the window, looked around at the empty room, and laid across the window seat, too confused and upset to bother with looking further for Riley. She’d come back in at some point. Maya must have dozed off because suddenly she was blinking her eyes open and looking up into Riley’s smiling face. Riley brushed her hair back and Maya realized that sensation was actually what woke her. Riley was playing with her hair again. She smiled sleepily up at her best friend and snuggled into the petting like an attention-hungry kitten.

“Why didn’t you let me know you were here, Peaches?”

“Didn’t feel like seeing other people out there,” Maya mumbled back at her. She rubbed her eyes and forced herself to sit up, speaking a little clearer but not much louder. “I just wanted safe and quiet, and the bay window is safe and quiet, and I knew you’d be back.”

Riley sat next to her, hip to hip and one arm around Maya’s shoulders, hugging her closely. “What’s wrong, did something happen?”

“Cooper broke up with me.”

“What? No! I told him, I warned him that if he hurt you…”

“No, Riles, wait. It wasn’t him, I mean, it’s not his fault. At least, I don’t think it is.” Maya chewed on her bottom lip as she stared at the floor intently, causing Riley to lean over a little, attempting to make eye contact.

“Now you’re confusing me. If he broke up with you, he’s the breaker-upper, and that kinda makes your pain his fault, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe?” Maya glanced up at her and quickly looked away again, unable to hold eye contact for long. Riley, of course, noticed this immediately but chose to wait just a bit before directly asking about it.

“Okay, why don’t you start by explaining how ‘maybe not’ could apply?”

Maya sighed and closed her eyes, screwing up the last dredges of courage she had. She knew where this conversation was going to go, and she wasn’t sure how it would end. That’s what really scared her, though – the idea that it _could_ end. “I went to see him after he got home and his brother kept talking about how much fun they had over the summer and how Cooper spent a lot of time with Lindsey. I mighta said something like ‘you don’t think it’s weird to spend a lot of alone time with another girl when we’re dating?’ and he mighta said something like ‘why? You spend a lot of alone time with another girl’ and…”

“What?” Riley’s tone startled Maya, but Riley was too angry to notice. She sat up straighter as she spoke, eyes narrowed in her irritation with Cooper. “So when he’s not off in the Hamptons with his family for the summer, it’s okay for him to have pizza parties with the whole basketball team or play video games with his buddies, but he has a problem with you spending time with your best friend?”

Maya shifted, grabbing Riley’s hand in hers, forcing herself to face her best friend. This was important, and she really needed Riley to listen. “Yeah, Riles, I said that, too. But Cooper had a really good point. I prioritize you over him, over everyone.” Riley opened her mouth briefly but closed it as Maya quickly continued. “No, don’t interrupt me. I know, best friends, Thunder, Lightning, but it’s more than that. Coop and I argued about my time with you a few different times, and it made me think. Like he said something about this imaginary future once, and did I think you’d be my top priority all my life, even with a husband and kids? And I remember Dad telling me about a conversation he had with your dad right before the wedding – about how my Mom was the most important person to him. And your dad said Topanga was the most important person to him, too. And I think of this imaginary future where I’m married with children, and I do want that future to be with the most important person in my life, so…” her throat closed up a little, and she thought she might actually stop breathing. All her courage was gone, just before the most vital words could come out.

“…so?” Riley’s voice seemed smaller suddenly, afraid and unsure like she was suddenly 11 or 12 again. Maya could practically hear Riley’s thoughts, those crazy imaginings that somehow Maya would choose Cooper or Lucas or some imaginary future husband and let their special relationship suffer for it. She knew those fearful thoughts because she’d had them herself and she couldn’t stand to let Riley think that for another minute. Suddenly she didn’t need courage anymore; her need to take care of Riley took over, and the words came tumbling out.

“So that means I want it to be with you. You’ve been the most important person to me since we were five. You told me I was your extraordinary relationship, remember? What if we really are?” And then she heard what she’d just said and was worried all over again. Heart in her throat, she stared down at their clasped hands and felt the warmth of Riley’s arm that was still hugging her shoulders. She loved holding Riley’s hand, loved being close to her and held by her, and she’d recently started to let herself think about what else she might love to do with Riley, but now she wondered if this would be the end of it. The end of the hand-holding and the comfortable presence together. She watched as Riley pulled her hand away and moved it upward.

Riley grabbed Maya by the chin and gently lifted her face to make eye contact again. “Honey, are you saying you – that you want to _be_ with me? Like romantically?” Maya couldn’t quite tell, but that tone didn’t sound upset.

“Would you be interested in considering it?” _I’m scared to hope, but I hope anyway_.

And then Riley was kissing her. Maya sucked in her breath quickly and completely involuntarily, and then couldn’t seem to remember how to continue the in/out process for a few moments. They had kissed platonically before, a kiss on the cheek, a quick peck on the lips with a hug after a long time apart, but this was different. This was Riley’s hand on the side of her face and their lips gently pressed together and slightly parted. After a moment, this was Riley’s tongue quickly tracing Maya’s bottom lip, an action that happened to remind her exhaling is a good thing, even if that exhale had the tiniest bit of a moan in the back of her throat. In all her 17 years and 3 actual boyfriends, Maya had never gotten feelings like this from a kiss, her heart beating like a drum, as if she were on the edge of something wonderful.  They broke apart but rested their foreheads together as they both panted a little.

Giggling. One of them was giggling, and it took Maya a moment to realize it was her. She took a deep breath to calm herself and leaned back to look into those dark brown eyes she knew so well. “So, was that considering it?”

“No.” Riley smiled at her. “That was my answer. I’ve been considering it for at least a year.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I, well, remember when I told you about that crush on Kerri Abelson?” Maya nodded. She’d had some confusing mixed feelings when Riley came out as bi, and now it made a lot more sense. “Well, what I didn’t tell you is that later on I realized I had similar feelings for you. It made sense, really. I’ve loved you forever, and you’re my favorite person to spend time with, and I trust you completely, so once I realized I was attracted to girls too, it was easy to imagine sharing that with you.”

Maya smiled. She couldn’t argue with the logic of it. “But why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Well, first of all you were dating Zay at the time, and you’ve always had that long game thing with Josh, and mostly I was scared that telling you would either make things awkward and end our friendship, or we’d try dating and break up and end our friendship.”

“And now?”

“Now I know you feel the same way so that avoids the awkward thing, and since you started out imagining me as your spouse, I don’t feel that nervous about a breakup.” Riley gave that adorable closed lipped ‘awesome things happening’ smile of hers, and Maya felt her heart swell even more.

“I love you, Riles.”

“I love you, too, Peaches.”

 

They talked about waiting a few weeks to tell people they were together, but quickly realized Riley wouldn’t be able to wait that long. They gave themselves the weekend to get used to the idea and settle into this new aspect of their relationship, and then it was Monday morning and they were sitting at the breakfast table with Cory, Topanga, and Auggie, as usual.

“So, we have something we’d like to talk to you about,” Riley began. She recognized the look of mild terror on her dad’s face – he always seemed to imagine the worst was coming – and was grateful that her mom was simply calmly listening. She was also grateful for the firm grip Maya had on her hand under the table. “Um, well, you know how we’ve been best friends for most of our lives,” everyone nodded, “and everyone says we’re like Dad and Uncle Shawn, friends all our lives and stuff… but it turns out there’s more to it. I mean, I think in a lot of ways that’s true, especially with their similar backgrounds and all, but um,” she could hear herself getting rambly and tried to sum it up quickly. “But we’ve realized now that um, that we’re not just ‘Cory and Shawn’ but we’re also ‘Cory and Topanga’”

Cory looked confused now. “But you’re Riley and Maya.”

“Yes, Dad, that’s what I’m saying.”

“What’s what you’re saying?”

“We’re us, and we’re like you and Shawn, but we’re also like you and Mom.”

Cory blinked again and turned to look at Topanga for an explanation. Topanga, having had nearly a full lifetime to understand him, just rolled her eyes fondly and placed one hand on top of Cory’s in a comforting gesture.

“What your daughter is trying to tell you, Cory is that she and Maya are a couple now.” She smiled at both the girls as she caught their adoring and slightly bashful looks toward each other.

“You mean they weren’t already?” Auggie exclaimed, making both girls blush more.

 

School started on Wednesday of that week, so Tuesday night, Maya and Riley met up with the rest of the gang at Topanga’s so they could all share in their excitement at being Seniors! Zay and Smackle sat on the small sofa together – he’d been extra supportive of her since the Minkuses had to move away the year before – while Lucas and his girlfriend Lindsey were in chairs closer to the counter.  They’d all been chatting for a while when Zay stopped mid-sentence and motioned toward the two girls in the window seat.

“Alright now, somebody wanna tell me what’s going on over here? I mean, you two have always been close, but I feel like I’m sensing a little bit of something different now?” The others followed his gaze and took in the sight of Maya leaning against Riley’s shoulder, their entwined fingers gently resting on Riley’s bare thigh just below her shorts. Riley blushed and Maya shifted so her hair fell to cover most of her face. Riley squeezed the hand in hers and looked over, waiting for Maya to make eye contact. When she did, they both broke out in matching goofy grins.

“Oh, I see it now,” Smackle exclaimed. “You two have finally recognized the depth of your pair-bonding and are moving from a socially bonded pair to a sexually bonded pair, am I correct?” Isadora was somewhat oblivious to the sudden embarrassment and discomfort of those around her and continued watching Maya and Riley expectantly. Riley was stammering silently and Maya had covered most of her face with her free hand. Isadora did notice that they never let go of each other even as she waited for their responses.

“Um, we uh…” Riley had her uncomfortable smile on and was blushing furiously by now. “I mean, yes, we realized, but we haven’t, not that we won’t, but…” She finally stopped, feeling fairly mortified. “Maya, help?”

Maya took a deep breath and sat up straight, pulling her hand away from her face. “Yes, we’re a couple. Nobody needs more details than that about the status of that bond, though, now or at any time in the future.”

“Well I’m happy for you both,” Lucas said with a smile. It seemed a little strange that two girls who sorta fought over him were now a couple, but they’d always mattered more to each other than anyone else had.

Zay muttered “’bout time” which triggered a bit of laughter among the group. As it died down, Riley noticed Isadora looking a little sad.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I miss Farkle. His father’s business troubles weren’t supposed to completely take him out of our lives, but ever since they had to leave last year, keeping in touch with Farkle has been more and more difficult. We already decided long-distance romance wasn’t a good idea at our age, but I had hoped we’d remain somewhat close, at least. I haven’t heard from him in almost 2 months now.”

“I’m so sorry, Smackle.” Maya said. “I know we all wanted to keep in touch, but I have to admit I haven’t tried to contact Farkle in a while. I guess sometimes it’s just harder to stay close to the people who aren’t physically close.”

Riley nodded. “I miss him, too. I know Mr. Minkus didn’t want to move him away from his friends, but I hope his new job is going better. I know they aren’t destitute or anything, but they did lose a lot of money before he completely closed down Minkus International.” She sighed, thinking of how random and unfair some things seem to be. “Stupid economy.”

Their friends nodded sagely in agreement and sat silently for a moment until Lindsey finally asked the question on her mind. “Who’s Farkle?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Girl Meets Road Trip**

_Summer after graduation_

Maya stretched out on the hotel bed, testing the comfort level, adjusting the pillows, wondering if she should pull the covers back first. She knew she was being silly. It wasn’t exactly their first time being intimate, but this situation offered them more… _possibilities_. She hadn’t thought to bring any fancy lingerie with her (not that she even owned any), but she couldn’t deny it felt different being in their own hotel room, officially adults, college-bound high school graduates. The shower was still running, but she knew Riley would be coming out of the bathroom soon, and they had no parents around, no curfews to meet, no younger siblings to interrupt. She was looking forward to having Riley all to herself for the whole night, exploring slowly, finding out what Riley really responded to best, learning more about how their bodies created magic together.

She leaned back against the pillows, listening to the muffled sounds of Riley singing in the shower combined with the water sound itself. It was oddly relaxing and stimulating at the same time, possibly because she couldn’t help but imagine Riley in the shower, the soap and water sliding down her curves and those forever-long legs. Ooh, showering together was something else they should do during this vacation. That sounded potentially fun, and she felt her heartbeat speeding up a bit and her cheeks getting warmer as she thought about it. The water turned off with a squeak and Maya jumped, surprised to find that she’d been so caught up in those shower thoughts, she’d just started to run one hand over her body.

Riley’s singing didn’t stop with the shower, but was still muffled just enough that Maya couldn’t quite make out the song. She didn’t care anymore when the bathroom door opened, steam rolling out, and Riley stepped through the door wrapped only in a small hotel towel. She watched those long legs as the towel shifted across Riley’s thighs with each step. A quick look up showed Riley, wet hair sticking in tendrils around her neck and shoulders, droplets of water slowly wending their way down Riley’s chest and disappearing beneath the towel wrapped around her torso. Riley was smiling at her, a mischievous and slightly unfamiliar look in her eyes. Maya was just about to ask “what’s up” when she realized Riley was still very quietly singing, almost under her breath. Riley adopted a slightly predatory look as reached the edge of the bed and dropped her towel, preparing to climb up toward her girlfriend. Maya’s eyes grew wide and her legs unconsciously parted slightly as she finally registered the words Riley was singing. “Moving to the country, gonna eat a lot of Peaches, moving to the country, gonna eat me a lot of Peaches.”

 

**Girl Meets College**

Riley eventually chose to major in science, exact discipline to be determined. Despite knowing she would never be on Farkle or Smackle’s levels, she did enjoy figuring things out and decided it felt like a good fit for her. Nobody was surprised when Maya decided to officially study art. She continued to thrive, exploring different mediums and styles and learning to express herself more and more.  They both made it into NYU (Maya’s art portfolio had grown rather impressive and helped make up for her less-than-stellar grades).

Despite how much time they spent together, they decided to accept the random roommate assignments instead of requesting to share a dorm room. Riley had pointed out that it might be better for them, forcing them to meet new people and put at least some of their focus into this whole new world they were discovering. Separate rooms didn’t keep them from spending most of their free time together, though. They met for lunch 3 days a week, had dinner together most nights (when one of them wasn’t in a night class), and made sure there was at least one official “date time” per week. Other activities happened almost organically, like a random game of ultimate Frisbee with friends or a the movie nights that Lillian (Maya’s roommate) hosted every few weeks where far too many people piled into their tiny dorm room with a variety of microwave popcorn and more chocolate than Remus Lupin carried with him.

Just after mid-terms, when most of the campus was in search of a way to wind down, Maya suggested they join Lillian and some of her friends in attending their first big college party.  Riley was in her room getting ready, carefully picking out the right combination of accessories to compliment her new dress. She was going for a casual, semi-bohemian sort of look, and just couldn’t decide between the long flowy earrings or the silver hoops. She set them aside for now and sat down to put on her sandals, brown leather with laces that wrapped around her leg, coming up the bottom of her calves far enough that her dress would just cover the top. She was just starting on the second sandal when Maya walked in.

“Hey Peaches, I’m almost ready.”

“I see that, honey, but why are you all dressed up for dinner?” Maya leaned against the dresser mindlessly poking at the earrings Riley had laid there.

Riley looked up from her sandal strap in confusion. “Dinner? I, uh… I mean, I just thought we’d grab something to eat on our way to the party. Did you want to go to the cafeteria instead?”

“Riles, honey,” Maya smiled, knowing exactly where this conversation was about to end up. “I thought we were gonna get dinner, and then come back to our rooms and get ready. You see, the party doesn’t start until ten.”

She couldn’t quite hold the smile off her face as she watched Riley’s eyebrows reach for her hairline, her eyes growing impossibly large as she realized what she’d just heard. “It STARTS at ten?!?!”

 

**Girl Meets Next Step**

In their second year of college, they had their own apartment, a tiny one, but not a horrible one. They’d been together nearly 2 and a half years now, and decided they wanted to take that next step in their relationship. Telling their families about the wedding plans was interesting.

Christmas morning as the two families were celebrating together, Riley glanced at Maya and gave her a quick nod. The signal. It was time. Maya suddenly found herself speaking in something similar to her ‘Charlie Gardner, cheese souffle’ voice as she made the announcement. “All right folks listen up, listen up! This might sound crazy, but here’s our plan.” She cleared her throat and switched to her normal voice for the rest of it. “We’re getting married. Soon. We only want a small wedding, with our closest loved ones there. And since most all of our closest loved ones can usually get together on very short notice, we’re not setting a date. You see, there’s something very important in our lives, and we want it to be a part of our wedding day, but we have to work on Mother Nature’s schedule.” She held the hand with her ring up toward Riley, no words needed, and Riley clasped her hand, rings together as they had so many times before. “So the next time a thunder and lightning storm is predicted, be on watch for a Wedding Now ™ message telling you when and where to meet us.”

Maya looked around the room, taking in everyone’s reactions. Shawn was grinning and hugging Katy who was crying what appeared to be happy tears (her little sister Lucy seemed oblivious as she continued to play with her new toys, but Maya didn’t expect much more from a toddler, really). Topanga and Auggie both looked surprised but happy. Cory, well, Cory was wearing his ought-to-be-patented ‘proud but concerned’ expression. None of this lasted long, though, as their parents all came out of the moment of stunned silence and launched toward the girls to pull them into a group hug. Just as the hug was threatening to dissolve into tears, Auggie, who was much too big at 12 for such shenanigans but really didn’t care, crawled between feet to push himself up into the middle of the huddle demanding “don’t leave me out or I’ll bite someone’s face off!” It took several minutes before everyone managed to stop laughing and catch their breath again.

**Girl Meets I Do (Again)**

It was March 1st before they could get all the pieces to fall into place during a storm, but there they were, standing inside a large gazebo at the park, surrounded by their family and closest friends. Around them, a steady rain fell and they could just hear the distant rumblings of the heavier storm approaching.

The ceremony was brief, but beautiful, led by Richard, one of Maya’s art classmates who happened to also be ordained. The brides walked the few steps up to the makeshift altar with their fathers, both of whom struggled to see through watery eyes.  They handed their small bouquets off to their mothers as they took their places facing each other. Richard’s words were brief and he had to speak up to be heard over the increasing rain. At his cue, Riley took Maya’s hand in hers, and started with a big smile and raised shoulders, as if she were containing her “yaaaaaay” due to the formal occasion.

“Maya, we’ve always been Riley and Maya, and I can’t believe I didn’t always know just what that meant. I love you, and I love that we’re always going to be Maya and Riley and we’re going to build our future together. I told you once that you were my extraordinary relationship, and you keep proving me right every day.”

The dark, cloudy afternoon lit up momentarily as lightning glowed through the rainclouds, one bolt streaking through the sky in the distance. Riley glanced that way and back at Maya, eyes wide as a slow grin came across her face. Maya smiled back, recognizing the symbolism, too.

“Riley, you became my world when I was almost 6 years old, and every year I’ve spent with you that world gets bigger and more amazing and more powerful. You gave me my friends, and my family, and then you gave me your heart. All I want to do is take care of that for the rest of my life.” She became very vaguely aware of distant rumbles as she spoke and as soon as she finished, the thunder crashed.

It seemed louder, closer than she expected, and it startled her for just a second. When she looked back at Riley, she saw her own realization mirrored in those brown eyes. Just as they’d imagined, their vows were magically punctuated by thunder and lightning. Everyone who knew them understood the magic of what had just happened, so no one was surprised when they both quickly got all teary. Maya tried to blink the tears away and Riley giggled and then they broke down laughing. Richard cleared his throat to get people’s attention again and continue the ceremony. Their kiss was sweet, almost just a meeting of lips as they clung to each other, overwhelmed by their emotions. Katy and Topanga stood together smiling and sniffling when their daughters turned to be introduced. Eric looked dazed, like he was wondering where the time had gone. Smackle, slightly wistful, watched with a smile, while Lucas and Josh shared a grin and a glance in Maya’s direction. 

Maya’s smile lit up the place despite the dark storm clouds still letting loose a heavy shower. Josh watched her with Riley and wondered how he hadn’t seen it when they were younger. In addition, he had to spare a thought to wonder if Maya’s interest in him had been displaced from her early affection for Riley. He thought they made a great couple, and he squeezed the hand in his, wondering if it might be time to think about proposing to Cami. As the new brides accepted hugs from their mothers and others standing nearby, Shawn walked over to Cory – Cory who was currently doing his best to hold it together.

“They’re good for each other. We always knew they were going to be together forever, so really, it’s so much better than if either of them married someone else, you know?” Shawn had clearly put some thought into this.

Cory turned to Shawn. “You know, you’re right. You are so right. And hell, they’re actually a little older than Topanga and I were when we got married.”

“Exactly. And it’s okay to accept that we’re old now.” Shawn deadpanned.

“I’m old.” Cory nodded, resigned. Then he looked up with a grin and shot back, “But you - you’re ancient. Your birthday is before mine.”

 

They all gathered for the reception at Topanga’s where Shawn and Katy had arranged for a buffet of finger foods and champagne flutes of sparkling cider for toasting. And, ya know, wedding cake. Lucas and Isadora were the only friends from school able to make it. Zay had decided to go to college out of state, and they'd completely lost touch with Farkle over time. Riley had a couple friends from the science department there; she’d gotten pretty close with Jenn since they met at freshman orientation, and was thrilled to invite Jenn’s girlfriend to join them.

Everyone mingled and talked and snacked on the finger foods until finally Topanga decided it was cake time. They got through the traditional cake-feeding bit, both following their agreement NOT to smear frosting everywhere. Then as everyone settled with their own small cake plates and cider, Topanga raised her glass to make a toast.

“I remember when these girls first met. I hoped they would be great friends. I hoped they would help each other grow, be there for each other to lean on, support each other through the changes in life. I think I’ve known for a long time there were extra layers to their relationship. Now, I see how far they’ve come together, and how strongly they hold on to each other, and I have no doubt that they’re going to have a fantastic life. I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.” Her voice quivered slightly toward the end, but she’d said what she needed to say, and she smiled at her girls lovingly as she sat down.

Shawn stepped forward next. “Before I even knew Maya, I knew she was special to the Matthews family. After I met her, she became very special to me, too. And then I was lucky enough that my best friend’s daughter’s best friend’s mom became my wife.” Katy walked up beside him, their sleepy four-year-old on her hip and Shawn smiled at them, wrapping one arm around them both as he looked back at his eldest daughter. “Maya, you became my family, and then you gave me more family. I can’t wait to see how your family grows with Riley. Congratulations, sweetie.”

Maya swiped her hand under one eye quickly and muttered “I’m not crying, you’re crying.”

“Oh, Baby Girl,” Katy started, and then smiled when she saw that made Maya tear up more. “I know you thought I wouldn’t call you that when we found out Lucy here was a girl, but you will always and forever be my Baby Girl, even when you have babies of your own. I am just so proud of you, and so happy you found your forever. Riley, I’d say welcome to the family, but you’ve been family for so long already. I’m just glad it’s all official now.”

Riley squeezed Maya’s hand and offered her a hankie, the embroidered one Isadora had given both of them as wedding presents. Maya smiled, and carefully dabbed at her tears, trying not to get makeup on the pristine white cloth. She leaned closer against Riley’s arm and absently let her thumb rub over the satin-stitched letters “H-M.” It was the first thing with their new initials and Maya had gazed at it lovingly when they first got them that morning, smiling at the reminder that this was really happening. And then Cory cleared his throat and started speaking, reminding her that it was really happening right now!

“I always thought I was the luckiest person in the world. See, I met my best friend, Shawn, when I was just a little kid, and I already knew the girl who would one day become my wife. I’ve had those amazing people in my life for so long, and meeting them early just means I get to spend more of my life with them both. Then Riley, my beautiful, amazing daughter, Riley, who always surprises me and makes me so proud, who has always looked to me for guidance, who once freaked out because she thought she could never live up to ‘Cory and Topanga’ – she showed me that she was even luckier than I was. Because see, “he reached out his hands to grasp those of both Topanga and Shawn, “I got my lifelong best friend and my soul mate when I was pretty young, but Riley got them in the same person.”

And then Maya gave up on her mascara completely. Damn it, Matthews!


	3. Chapter 3

**Girl Meets Gift of Life**

Riley really was trying to enjoy being around her extended family, but it was a little overwhelming to have Auggie and Lucy being so loud and all the parents talking and laughing and the music playing in the background when she really needed to focus on these equations or she was never going to get her honors paper done before the end of the semester. She willingly gave up, though when Maya slid into the spot next to her on the living room’s bay window seat. “It’s Thanksgiving, sweetie. Can you get back to the big science stuff tomorrow?”

Books pushed aside and finals forgotten, Riley wrapped her arms around her wife and sighed happily. “I can. Thank you for reminding me to take a break from it.”

“Just paying you back for making sure I don’t forget to eat when I’m busy painting.”

Riley laughed and nodded her head in agreement. “You know, when we have kids we’ll have to get better about those things so we don’t forget to feed and walk the babies.”

Topanga and Katy suddenly appeared by their sides, each sitting next to the other’s daughter as they leaned in and quietly asked “What was that about babies?”

Both young women smiled shyly and Maya actually tried to tuck her head under Riley’s chin as much as possible. “Nothing” she mumbled into Riley’s collarbone, inciting a tiny giggle.

“Nothing specific,” Riley agreed. “We’ve just been talking about it some. Since we’re both graduating in May, we want to try kinda soon. I mean, we both liked having young parents, and we want to be young parents. I’ve looked into some of the details, though, and it’s kinda pricey.”

Maya sat up and brushed her hair back. “Yeah, stupid hetero privilege. You guys don’t know how easy you have it, just getting pregnant by having sex. They make it sound like it’s just ‘have sex and boom, there’s a kid’ but it’s not like that, and Riley can tell you, I’ve been trying!”

Riley turned red while both their moms laughed. Across the room, Riley was pretty sure she saw her father trying valiantly to pretend he hadn’t heard that comment. Auggie’s girlfriend, Jenny showed up then and everything shifted toward dinner and giving thanks for all their loved ones. Neither Riley or Maya thought anything else about the baby conversation until Christmas morning.

The whole family was, once again, gathered at the Matthews’ place for celebrations. Lucy, at six, was proud to read through all the gift tags and pass them out to the proper recipients. As the family cycled through opening one gift at a time, Maya noticed that her mom and Topanga kept looking at them and their gifts expectantly. (For someone who’d proven to be quite a talented actress, Katy still held her heart on her sleeve with those she cared most about.) She recognized her mom’s writing on the cream-colored parchment envelope addressed to her and Riley both, so she decided that needed to be the next one opened. She was fairly sure Riley had no idea, wasn’t feeling the sudden pressure of how important this thin, flat gift could be. Inside was a pretty notecard with Katy’s neat print across the front of it which Maya immediately started to read aloud.

“Maya and Riley, The two of you have such a beautiful and strong relationship, and we have all been so happy to watch you grow up together, to watch you fall in love together, to watch you step out in the world and begin to build your lives together. We’re proud to say we gave you life, and now we’re honored to help you with that again. We’re all looking forward to meeting your offspring and seeing what amazing parents you’re going to be. Love you both, Moms and Dads.”

She looked up, first at Riley, then scanned the room to silently address all four of their parents. Looking back at Riley, Maya saw her own confusion reflected there which oddly calmed her down a little. She carefully opened the card and looked inside only to immediately drop it like a snake that was about to bite her. “Th-th-that’s – that’s a, uh-uh-uh, that’s a lot of zeros in there, is what that is.” Riley looked even more confused, picked up the fallen card and cashier’s check, looked down at the computer printing that read “$10,000” and back up at Katy.

“This… You? But, this is… I mean…”

Shawn laughed “It’s so rare to see either of them speechless. I’m loving this!”

Topanga took pity on her daughter and Maya and decided to help clarify things. “After that talk Katy and I had with you at Thanksgiving, we talked to your fathers about it and the four of us decided to help you with your goal of starting a family soon. I did some research, and assuming there are no obstacles, that check should cover a few attempts at insemination and leave you with enough to cover some medical costs, some maternity clothes, even some of the baby things.”

“You don’t think it’s too early?” Riley felt the tears prickling at the corners of her eyes, but wasn’t willing to give in to them.

“Not for you two,” Cory said proudly. “You’ll work it all out. Your mom was still in college when we had you, and then law school. We managed it, and we have faith you will, too. Especially if you’re nearby because you’ll have grandparents close enough to help instead of in another state like us.”

Maya and Riley looked at each other smiling, and as their smiles grew bigger and bigger, so did the excitement of realizing they could reach their dreams of parenthood much sooner than they had expected.

They were lucky enough to find an anonymous donor they liked, get appointments quickly, and had success on their first try. By the end of January, Riley was pregnant. They announced it by sending Valentine’s flowers to both sets of parents with a note that read “Thank you for giving us the gift of life two times over. Your grandbaby is due in October.”  


**Girl Meets Twins**

At the 38-week appointment, Jacob was foot-down breach and Kailey’s cord was looking dangerously twisted, so they suspected Riley would need a C-section. They hadn’t expected it to be an emergency C-section 3 days later while Riley was unconscious after a truck hit the taxi she was in. Maya had been waiting for Riley to meet her for lunch and got the call from the hospital just as she was straddling the line between irritated and worried. She made her way to the hospital in a worried daze, desperately trying not to scream at people who were in her way, keeping her from her wife and children.

Hours later, Maya was calmly waiting, holding Riley’s hand and waiting for her wife to wake up. She’d been assured that everything went well and all vitals were good and that she had nothing left to worry about, but she’d decide that for herself once she could see her wife awake and aware.

Just then, Riley stirred quietly as she started to regain consciousness, then she suddenly found herself awake and panicked. She gasped loudly and tried to sit up. “Hey, honey. I’m here. It’s okay, everything’s okay.” She looked to her right and saw Maya, realized Maya was holding her hand, wearing a tired but comforting expression on her face. Riley leaned back into her pillow again, her eyes never leaving Maya’s. She opened her mouth to speak, realized how dry her mouth and throat were, and thought better of it. She barely had time to look around for water before Maya was handing her a cup with a bendy straw. She offered a grateful smile and took a few sips even as she help up her free hand in the “I love you” sign. Maya’s smile grew as she replied “I love you too, honey.”

Riley let go of the straw and leaned back again, swallowed slowly and finally voiced the thought that had panicked her when she first woke. “Truck.”

“Yeah, they said it hit the other side of your cab, which is why you and the driver weren’t hurt worse, but you must have hit your head on the window or something to knock you out. By the time they were done with surgery, though, they said you were responding to everything normally and we shouldn’t worry.”

Riley furrowed her brow, confused. “Surgery?” She raised one hand to her head, feeling around for bandages, stitches, swelling, something.

“Not surgery on your head, babe.” Maya smiled at her, waiting for Riley to catch up. When she didn’t seem to follow, Maya took pity on her and motioned to the other side of the bed where two hospital bassinettes held their little angels. Riley turned to look, her mouth opened in a big O and her eyes wide as she took in the site. “You had the babies, Riley. We’re moms now.”

Riley didn’t know what to say, what to do. She had so many feelings, so many thoughts rushing through her head now. She’d completely missed the birth of her children, nothing went according to plan, what if the accident hurt one of them, but she couldn’t be too upset about these things because there were two babies in front of her that she couldn’t wait to meet. “C-can I… can I hold them?” She glanced quickly, sheepishly, at Maya but soon turned her attention back to the bassinettes on her left.

“Of course you can, Riles. You’re their mother!”

“Holy shit, I’m a mother.” Riley whispered as Maya started around the bed toward the babies.

“Yeah,” Maya chuckled. “We both are. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around it for the past hour waiting for you to wake up.” She reached in and picked up Jacob, taking a moment to press a gentle kiss to his forehead and sniff up more of that baby smell. She’d practically had her nose glued to Kailey’s head when she first held her daughter. “Hey, Jacob. Here’s your Mommy. She’s pretty amazing, and you’re gonna love her so much.” Maya sniffed a little as she handed Jacob over, and grinned to see that Riley was holding back tears of her own. As soon as their son was comfortable, Kailey started to squirm and whimper, as if she knew her brother was being held and she wasn’t. Maya picked her up and shushed her, bouncing gently to quiet her down and silently thanking her parents for having Lucy so she wouldn’t be completely freaked out by babies. “You ready for both at once?” she asked Riley with a grin.   
  
“I mean, no, not really, but as ready as I’ll ever be?” The whole response sounded more like a question, but Maya could completely understand.

“It’s okay. I’m here if you need an extra hand. I don’t think I’ll try it myself until I can sit down and have someone hand them to me, too.” She winked as she closed the short distance between them and held Kailey out toward Riley’s empty arm.

Riley sat in silence for a moment or two, looking back and forth between her son and daughter. Finally, she looked up, directly into the shining blue of her wife’s teary eyes. One of her own tears escaped and rolled down her cheek as she finally found words. “Oh my god, Maya!”

Maya just scooted onto the bed next to her, one arm around Riley’s shoulders, the other hand gently brushing across Kailey’s eyebrows. “I know, honey. I know.” Both their parents and siblings and even a few close friends were in the waiting room, excited to meet the twins and to see Riley after her accident and surgery, but for right now, just the two of them and their new babies was all the family they needed.

 

**Twins Meet Christmas**

They’d agreed to a spending limit and each taken one of the twins so they could do their final Christmas shopping – it was awfully hard to shop for someone you pretty much spent all your time with.  Riley pushed the cart through the craft store and giggled as her fourteen-month-old son ate bigger-than-she-would-have-liked bites off the banana she was holding. “You have to be careful Jacob. You need to leave room for the chewing action to happen.” Finally reaching the paint supplies in the back corner, she browsed around looking for ideas to help fill Maya’s Christmas stocking. As she was selecting a new fan brush and palette knife, her phone sang out “Peaches for me” to let her know Maya was texting.

Maya: Look at this adorableness? What am I supposed to do now?

Below the comment was a photo of Kailey, dark brown hair just starting to curl over her ears. Her purple onesie proudly said “My 2 Moms Love Me” in puff paint (a favorite from their baby shower) and her brown eyes were looking up at Riley with what probably would have been a grin had her mouth not been occupied by what looked like a squeaky tow truck she was gnawing on. Riley shook her head and grinned, giving Jacob another bite of banana before typing in her response.

Riley: I guess she’s got a new chew toy. Do I even want to know what you’re getting me for Christmas that was displayed near the toys?

Maya: Wouldn’t that ruin the surprise of it?

Riley: True. Has she had a snack yet? Jake’s going through this banana like we starve him.

Maya: I just managed to replace the truck with a teething cracker.

Riley sent back a heart and a smooch, then pocketed her phone again. “Now, what else should we put in Mama’s stocking, huh?” She smiled at her son as he took another bite of banana and giggled around it. His blond hair and blue eyes were such a contrast to his sister, and really, yeah, part of why they’d picked their donor was his similar features to Maya, but they had managed to end up with a child that looked like each of them which had really been beyond their wildest dreams. Okay, Jacob’s eyes were already a darker blue, and his hair had a distinct red tint, but with Maya’s Irish heritage, that still fit very well. Turning her attention back to shopping, Riley grabbed a couple other basic brushes – she knew Maya could never have too many of those – and a few of the smallest canvas sizes for Maya to have some fun with.

On her way up to the register she grabbed a few wrapping items (“There’s still lots of things to wrap up at home, Buddy! You don’t even remember Christmas presents and how much fun that can be!”), a couple more ornaments for the tree (“I know Some people say there’s enough on there, but it’s out of your reach and can it Really have too many?”), and finally a couple tiny decorations for their tiny fairy home (“Because the fairies deserve to have nice holiday décor and celebrations, too, don’t they? Yes, they do indeed!”). She glanced up at the older lady standing in line in front of her and smiled an embarrassed smile upon realizing she was being watched.

The woman smiled back and directed her gaze to Jacob. “You listen to your Mommy. Fairies like it when we remember them and help make them comfortable. You want to have the fairies on your side, if you can!” Jacob smiled and gurgled at her even while leaning to the side toward the last couple bites of his banana. As his cheek hit it, he finally turned and took a bite only to quickly cut his eyes back over to the woman who’d been talking. “I bet that’s a real good banana! You look like you’re enjoying that a lot.” She looked up at Riley again. “He’s very sweet.”

“Thank you. He’s got a twin sister, too. They’re a handful together, but a precious handful.”

Riley was still smiling about her pleasant afternoon by the time she finally got home. She was also kicking herself a bit for waiting until 3 days before Christmas to finish her shopping, but at least it was all done now. Jacob settled into the play yard and immediately started banging on his toy drum. Riley quickly put the gifts away so she could wrap things up later and was closing the closet door when Maya came in, weighed down with baby, diaper bag, and even more shopping bags than Riley had brought home.

“What did you do, Maya, buy an entire store?” She raced over to help, snatching Kailey away and greeting her with a boop on the nose and a kiss on the cheek. She got a smack to the eye/nose area in return and leaned over to kiss Maya hello and reach for the diaper bag as well.

“No, not an entire store,” Maya was maybe a little defensive, but her tone quickly turned sheepish as she continued. “Just, maybe a few sections from a few different stores? I swear, though, it’s not as bad as it looks. You know me, I was mostly at thrift stores. Don’t worry, honey, we’re not broke or anything.”

“I wasn’t worried, Peaches. I trust you. Now, it’s been a long day, our kids are happily playing for maybe the next 3 minutes or so. I want snuggles.”

“Whatever you say, honey.” Maya smiled and sat down on the couch, reaching out for Riley to cuddle up against her. As soon as they sat down together and Riley's head was on Maya’s shoulder, Maya’s arm snuggly around her wife, she felt her breathing slow down and the tension begin to drain from her shoulders. Riley always made everything better.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter - the twins are growing up and Maya's still learning how good life can be sometimes.

**Twins Meet First Grade**

Riley and Maya walked the twins down the hall to their assigned classroom. Riley looked around as they entered room 26, taking in the pint-sized desks and chairs, the short bookcases filled with kids books, and the other 6-year-olds milling about with their parents. “It’s hard to believe we used to be in a classroom this size. Everything looks so tiny.”

“You do know that the twins are bigger now than they’ve ever been, which means their stuff used to be a lot smaller?”

“Yeah, but Maya, that was just in twos. This is in 25s! Small things look smaller when there are lots of them!”

Maya shook her head and smiled. “I adore you.” And was rewarded with Riley’s brilliant grin, just as she’d hoped.

“Mama, where do we get to sit? I wanna see my desk, Mama!” Jacob dragged Maya further into the room, looking at the name cards carefully placed on each desk.

Near the front of the room, they could see several adults gathered around the teacher’s desk, but nothing could have prepared them for what would happen when those parents moved and they finally got sight of their kids’ teacher. Riley smacked Maya on the arm a couple times; Maya just stood there with her jaw hanging open. He stood by the desk talking to another couple, a tall man in crisp jeans and a button up shirt. His brown hair was shorter than they remembered it, but there was no mistaking the man they were looking at. Time seemed to move in slow motion as the teacher turned his head toward them and smiled a familiar smile.

“Ladies!”

“Farkle?” They spoke in unison, not unusual for them, really. “What? How? Farkle?”

He nodded his head and smiled at them again. “I hoped they were yours when I saw ‘Hunter-Matthews’ kids on my roll. I mean, where else would those names combine?” He glanced from Maya to Riley, taking in their shell-shocked expressions. “Well, I guess they could have also combined if Maya married your uncle, like she thought, but at least then I still would have found you both, right?”

“Farkle?” Maya knew she was being repetitive, but they hadn’t seen him in nearly a decade, so it was fair if she needed time to catch up.

“Yes, it’s me. I’ve really missed you both, and was hoping to look you up soon. I just moved back to the city this summer, and it’s been crazy getting ready for school to start, but then I got my class roster for the year and saw Kailey and Jacob on there. I couldn’t help but wonder, and then I decided I’d track you down if these weren’t your children.”

“Farkle, it’s so good to see you!” Riley quickly pulled him into a hug, then stepped back and popped him on the shoulder. “How dare you disappear and not keep in contact with us?”

“I know.

“And how did you end up becoming a first grade teacher?”

“As I got older, I began to realize the real reason I wanted to rule the world is that I wanted to change it for the better. When I had to finish high school in a strange place, it really hit me how much impact teachers have on everything, especially good teachers, like Mr. Matthews and Harper were. I decided the best way to change the world for the better was to teach the little ones that are going to run it one day, just like your dad did for us.”

 

**Twins Meet 6 th Birthday**

Riley juggled her armful of last minute shopping bags and the box of cupcakes, reaching for her keys and feeling thankful she’d finally gotten a little less clumsy since her teen years. Thinking back to when the twins were babies, she’d never have made it if she hadn’t gained some control over her limbs. “Peaches for me!” her phone sang out just as she crossed the threshold and bumped the door shut with her hip. Once she was inside and everything had been safely set down she glanced at her phone to see the message from Maya.

Maya: Hey, your mom’s gonna grab the kids. I might be a little late to the party because my doctor had an emergency earlier and is running behind now.

Riley’s eyes grew wide. She’d forgotten, today Maya was supposed to find out if their last attempt at having another baby had finally worked. It seemed Maya was much harder to get pregnant than Riley had been, but Riley’s accident and surgery had left her with scar tissue and it was “unadvisable” for her to have another.

Riley: Okay. I’ll finish the decorating and gift-wrapping. I have a good feeling about this one!

Maya: Don’t get your hopes up, honey. I want to be pregnant as much as you want me to, but I’m not showing any symptoms. I don’t feel any different than usual. I really just don’t think this is going to work out.

Riley: Peaches, just breathe and wait til you see what Dr. Mitchell says, okay? And either way, it’ll be okay. We have the best family. I love you.

Maya: Love you, too. So much.

Riley: Huge much.

She smiled to herself as she set the phone down and turned on some music to keep her energy up for party preparations. Just over an hour later there were streamers all over, kids’ games set up for later, snacks set out, and the twins’ gifts. They got one gift each from their moms, and party guests who insisted on a gift were asked to bring college fund donations or experience gifts like a coupon for burgers and the zoo with a loved one. She and Maya had started this when the kids turned 3 and they realized how easily overwhelmed they were by all the toys.

Riley was just mixing some fruit punch for the kids when the guests started arriving and before she knew it, the place was packed. Topanga and Cory arrived after just a few others, excited 6 year old twins in tow, babbling 95 miles a minute about their day at school. They were both surprised and a little confused to see their teacher walk in the door a few minutes later, until Papa Cory reminded them that he’d been Mr. Minkus’ teacher once upon a time. Jacob nearly tackled his Grandpa Shawn when the Hunters walked in. Kailey, on the other hand, immediately grabbed Lucy’s hand and dragged her over to the games.

When Lucas showed up, Riley was a little shocked to recognize what he was carrying. It was the time capsule from 8th grade. “Oh my gosh, Lucas! I can’t believe you dug that up!”

Lucas set the metal box down and gave her a grin. “Yeah, well,” he stepped over to Farkle and patted his old friend on the back. “I can’t believe you dug this up!”

Maya finally got there when the twins and their classmates were playing games and making enough noise for any 50 children. Jacob and 6 others were playing Duck, Duck, Goose in the middle of the living room while Kailey and 5 more played Pin the Tail on the Donkey in the dining room. Friends and family mingled around, and Maya was wondering if there’d been a spell cast on the place to make all these people actually fit. She was still mulling over all she’d learned once she finally saw Dr. Mitchell, and really wasn’t ready to talk about it just yet, so she was kind of glad to have walked into a bit of chaos.

Riley must have been able to tell because she just offered a sweet smile and a big hug and then handed her a cup of punch. The rest of the party passed by in a bit of a blur for Maya. She smiled and responded when people talked to her, but mostly she stayed on the sidelines or busied herself with the kids. Once Jake and Kai caught her attention she found herself feeling better and better, smiling more and more, and dedicated the rest of the party to being the official photographer, except for a handful of times when she handed her phone to someone else and demanded they take a picture of her with the kids, or Riley and the kids, or their whole family.

They’d just finished opening presents when Maya thought there was another. “Hey wait, guys.” She reached for it, and slowed down as she lifted it and realized it wasn’t for the twins. “What the?” She looked to Riley for answers, of course. “Riles? Where did this come from?”

“I brought it,” Lucas answered for her. “Because Farkle called me up, reminded me that it’s been 15 years and now that he’s back and we’re all together again, we should open it.”

Cory, Topanga, and Shawn all smiled, thinking back on their own time capsule. “Seems crazy to think ours was 30 years ago now. Maybe we should bury a new one to look back on after retirement.” Cory chuckled and nudged his two best friends.

“So,” Shawn addressed Maya, “you gonna open it?” Maya looked up at her dad, the man she first remembered meeting at the age of 12 and now couldn’t imagine not having him in her life. She knew what was in that box from her even if her friends didn’t, and she knew exactly what it meant to her. She just didn’t know if she could handle facing it today, right now, after her news, in front of everyone. Then Riley’s fingers slipped between hers and she looked into those familiar, calming brown eyes.

“Yeah, might as well, right? We’re all here together, and we don’t even have to drive to Philly to dig it up. Any advice for us?” She directed that last question toward the parents that had done this before.

Cory shrugged. “As Mr. Feeny said 15 years ago, ‘It’s been a long time, and you’re still together. What else do you need to know?’”

 They glanced over to see that Auggie and Lucy had the kids all entertained with a puppet show now, so this was probably the best time for it. Farkle took the plunge and opened the box. “I’ll go first. My favorite orange turtleneck, the one I took off when other people’s comments made me feel like I was nothing. I never would have imagined I’d end up a teacher, but it feels like the perfect thing for me, and I couldn’t have done it if I hadn’t known all of you. Also, just so you don’t think I’m going to magically advance the grade I’m teaching as your kids get older, I’m in night school to get my PhD. Now that the Minkuses are no longer filthy rich, I had to take my time to pay for all my schooling. I plan to become a college professor to teach other teachers one day.”

“That’s awesome, Farkle. And as one of your former teachers, I’m very proud of the man you’ve become, and glad to know you’ll be helping shape the future.”

“Thank you, Mr. Matthews.”

“Oh, Farkle, you can call me Cory now.” Farkle just looked at Cory like he’d lost his mind, leaving Cory very confused until Riley cleared it up for him.

“Would you ever call Mr. Feeney by his first name, Dad?”

“Oh. NO! No no no, oh, ooooooh. Okay, I get it.”

Lucas stepped forward and reached into the time capsule. “I guess I’ll go next. I put my transfer slip in here, so I could remember the start of a good time. You people are my family, and that’s why I wanted to tell you all together that this week is the start of another good time in my life. I’m opening my own veterinary practice!”

Riley smiled and pulled him into a hug. “I’m so happy for you, Lucas! That’s amazing.” Lucas hung his head and blushed a little as everyone agreed with her.

“Okay, Riley, isn’t it your turn?” He nudged her, hoping to take the attention off himself now.

“Yes,” she reached in and pulled out the small orange ball. “Pluto, because I always want to keep believing in things. I go to work every day and study space now. Yeah, I get why Pluto was declassified, but I still believe. I believe I’ll make a fantastic discovery someday. I believe eventually we’ll travel to other planets. I believe in my family, and the love that we share.” She looked at Maya and smiled brilliantly. “I believe in my wife and the amazing family we’ve created.” She saw Maya’s eyes watering and thought about how subdued she’d been since getting home from Dr. Mitchell’s. It didn’t matter. Another negative attempt wasn’t the end. There were other ways to expand their family. They’d find a way. They’d make it work. She squeezed Maya’s hand tightly and tried to hold back her own tears, though she could hear them in her voice. “I believe that hope is not for suckers, and we CAN have the life we want.” She hoped Maya could understand what she was saying there, generic as it sounded. The teary smile and short nod assured her the message was received.

Maya cleared her throat and dabbed quickly under her eyes as she reached in to pick up the last thing in the box. “I remember that day so clearly. I made you all leave Topanga’s so I could put my item in secretly. I said I hoped we’d all be surprised.” She lifted the photo and held it to her chest, taking a breath and blinking quickly to hold back the tears. “I put this photo in because it so perfectly captured what I was hoping for, but I think I was a few steps above surprised when it actually happened, when my parents got married, later when Shawn adopted me, when they had Lucy,” she glanced across the room at her precious younger sister, then turned back to share a smile with both parents. “See, I was wishing for family, for me and my mom to be a happy family, but maybe a bigger happy family than two. And we got that. We got that so much with Shawn and Lucy. And then I got it again with Riley, and the Matthews became more officially family than they already were and suddenly I had a large family like I’d always wished for.” She squeezed Riley’s hand tightly and gave up on trying to hold back the tears. Looking over at the twins, she smiled through her tears and continued. “Riles and I, we always talked about wanting 4 kids. We both loved the idea of a big family, and with two of us to carry them, 4 pregnancies wouldn’t be that hard. We uh, we lucked out when we got those two with the first pregnancy, especially since it would end up being Riley’s only one. But,” she sniffed and pressed her lips together tightly, trying to get ahold of her emotions. “But today I found out that not only am I pregnant, but the hormone levels were really high. It’s too early to be 100% positive, but it looks like we’re getting another set of twins, Riles.”

Riley raised her eyebrows and mouthed words for several moments. She could hardly believe her ears. “Wait, really? You, you really are?”

Maya nodded, “I really am.”

Riley took so long to wrap her brain around the exact opposite of what she expected to hear that all their parents pushed in front of her to wrap Maya in a group hug and express their excitement. Just as they let go, Riley stepped in and picked Maya up in her excitement. “We’re really having another baby, no, more babies, we’re having another set of twins!” Then she paused, set Maya down quickly and gazed off into the distance. “Oh geez. We’re having _another_ set of twins.”

“Maybe someone should have asked that donor if he had twins in his family or something.”

 

It almost seemed like a day later when they’d said goodbye to their guests, gotten the kids in bed, cleared up the majority of the party detritus, and finally fell into their bed exhausted. They laid there quietly for a few minutes until Riley turned toward Maya, placed a gentle hand on Maya’s abdomen, and finally said what was on her mind. “We’re having more babies.”

“Yeah, we’re having more babies.”

“You know the way you came home, I totally thought…”

“Yeah, I know. I was just still trying to wrap my brain around it. I go back in 2 weeks to have the levels checked again. I just really didn’t think. I mean, you got pregnant the first time we tried it, and this was the 6th for me? Over a year? I didn’t want to hope. And I was so busy not hoping, that I didn’t know what to think about the test being positive.”

“You still think hope is for suckers, don’t you?” Riley shifted her head a bit to look up at Maya. She watched as Maya scrunched her eyebrows and pursed her lips, a sure sign she was feeling conflicted about something.

“Yes and no.” Her face relaxed, but she continued staring at the ceiling as she spoke. “My brain still tells me not to hope, but you keep teaching me that it’s okay, convincing me to hope anyway.”

“Oh Peaches, I’ve told you before. Dream dreams, Maya. You’re going to get everything you want in life.”

Maya looked at her wife and smiled. “I already have.”


End file.
